It’s the penultimate round of the 2017 Formula One world championship and while both titles have been decided, there is plenty at stake at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 3am AEDT.

Nestled in the bustling city of São Paulo, the 4.3km undulating circuit represents one of the drivers’ most favourites on the calendar – with its high-speed corners and long straights.

The traditional 71-lap race has been known to dish up chaos, with changeable weather always a factor in Brazil.

Dramatic races such as in 2012 and 2016, where Max Verstappen demonstrated a masterclass in the treacherous conditions, are what’s well known about the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Newly crowned four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, found himself in a spot of bother during qualifying, when he crashed out early in Q1. As a result, the Briton failed to set a time and is set to start the race which he won last year, from pit-lane.

It was the other Mercedes AMG however that took pole position, with Valtteri Bottas storming to take the top spot by less than four one-hundredths of a second, over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Räikkönen lines up on the second row of the grid with Verstappen, all in with a chance to win the race.

Not within immediate contention is Daniel Ricciardo, who once again was subject to a Renault power-unit penalty and will start the race from fourteenth. Both Toro Rosso drivers join the Aussie in the bottom half of the grid, suffering the same issues.

If weather is indeed a variable during the race, then the possibility of some surprise results is always on the cards. Sergio Perez from fifth in the Force India leads a quartet of prospective podium getters; in the likes of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz.

Lest it not be ruled out that Felipe Massa can contend also, as the Brazilian gears up for what’ll be his final home grand prix. Starting from ninth, the Paulista will hope to not conclude his career in the same fashion as he crashed out in 2016.

The gloves are off then, as the championship is no longer in play. A straight fight between the Silver Arrows, Ferrari and Red Bull could very well be on the cards here.

Bottas can finish second in the standings, if he can overturn a 15-point deficit to Vettel in the Ferrari. Could he do so by claiming a third career win?

Tune in on The Roar from 3am AEDT for the Brazilian Grand Prix, as we count down to the end of the 2017 season.

Despite the title having already been decided, the Brazilian Grand Prix was a matter of pride for the defeated
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari, as the championship runner up claimed his fifth victory of the season.

Starting from front-row, the German made the better start over pole sitter Valtteri Bottas and then remained in the ascendency for the remainder of the race.

Bottas bemoaned his slow start, which he believes cost him the race, despite a strategic ploy from Mercedes AMG to undercut the Ferrari – during their one and only pit-stop. In the end, the Finn raced home to secure second on the podium.

The final place on the podium wasn’t decided until the final lap, with Kimi Räikkönen putting both Ferraris on the rostrum, holding off the admirable Lewis Hamilton – who started from the pit-lane and claimed fourth.

A stellar drive of similar proportions to Hamilton, came from Daniel Ricciardo who once again started in the bottom half of the field with power-unit penalties. Having survived a Turn 1 incident involving Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne, who both retired, the Aussie raced back into sixth – finishing behind teammate Max Verstappen.

With this being Felipe Massa’s final home grand prix, with the Brazilian set to retire at the end of the season, there was the onus on the São Paulo local to deliver a result worthy of a send-off and that he did – holding off Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez for seventh.

In a grand gesture from the sport, Massa was invited onto the podium following the traditional ceremony for the top-three, where he was interviewed and paid tribute too by former Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello and the adoring local fans.

Rounding out the points was Nico Hulkenberg, claiming a solitary point for Renault. Just 7-points separate the sixth placed Toro Rosso in the constructor’s championship, from Haas and Renault in eighth – with neither of the other cars scoring points this time out.

Haas’ race was made more miserable after Magnussen’s retirement, with Romain Grosjean being hit with a 10-second time penalty after he punted Esteban Ocon out of the race on the first lap.

Rather comical was the fact that Grosjean’s engineer refrained from telling the Frenchman about the penalty, until just before the pit-stop – which resulted in a typical Grosjean outburst on the radio.

Ocon’s first ever DNF ends an impressive streak of 27-consecutive race finishes, since the start of his career back at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.